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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Dessert Pizza

Do. not. make. this.

You're a sensible person, right? A sensible person wouldn't make something like this, knowing full well that she won't have the self-control to not eat half of it in one sitting while watching The Bachelorette with a pathetic amount of interest.

But who are we kidding? You're going to make this. Because it's dessert pizza. Yes. Dessert and pizza together. I'm doing big things.

Most of the recipes that came up when I searched for a dessert pizza recipe included things like bananas and strawberries and goat cheese. Umm, no. That's not dessert... that's practically a salad.

When I think of dessert pizza, I think of the Godfather's Pizza dinner buffet that my mom used to take my sister and I to every Tuesday night. We had a ritual. First we got our sodas, and then my mom got her salad from the salad bar, adding in whatever my sister and I wanted to steal off her plate (I liked the sunflower seeds, while my sister preferred those weird little corn-on-the-cob things). Next came cheese pizza, which at that point was the only kind of pizza I ate. Then, finally, it was time for dessert pizza. Chewy pizza crust, melted butter, cinnamon, and crunchy brown sugar streusel, all drizzled with sweet vanilla icing. It really doesn't get any better than that.

Can you see why I'm repulsed that anyone would try to put fruit on a dessert pizza?

I tried to replicate this dessert pizza as faithfully as possible, and the topping was definitely a win. The crust however, was not as soft and chewy as I wanted it to be. So... if anyone has a good pizza dough recipe for me, I suppose I could bring myself to try this recipe again. For authenticity's sake.

1. Dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature fora bout 15 minutes, or until the mixture bubbles and becomes frothy.

2. Combine the dissolved yeast with the remaining dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead at medium speed for 4-5 minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but may still be sticking a bit at the bottom. The dough will be sticky and look fairly rough.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 90 minutes, or until it's very puffy and approximately doubled in volume.

4. Shape the dough into a rough oval, but do not pat it flat. Cover the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

5. Lightly grease a 12x17 inch pan with nonstick spray, and place the dough in the prepared pan. Press the dough over the bottom of the pan, stretching it toward the edges. If it shrinks back, allow it to rest for about 15 minutes, then continue stretching. Repeat this process until you can stretch the dough to the edges of the pan.

6. Cover the dough, and allow it to rise for about 90 minutes, or until it is noticeably puffy. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

7. Bake the crust on the bottom oven rack for about 7 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.

8. While the crust is baking, prepare the streusel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and both sugars. Using a fork or a pastry blender, integrate the cold butter throughout the flour and sugar, until the mixture looks like wet sand and no large chunks of butter remain.

9. Combine the melted butter and cinnamon, and spread it over the partially-baked crust with a pastry brush. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

10. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown.

11. While the pizza is baking, prepare the vanilla icing. Stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. If the icing is too thin, add additional powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. If the icing is too thick, add additional milk one tablespoon at a time.

12. Drizzle the pizza with the vanilla icing. Slice and serve immediately. Try to be sensible. It's hard, I know.

1 comment:

Thanks for sharing this recipe it's definitely a really good reward for my brother who got his Food Safety Course last week. But still work on the dough first. I'm not really the cook-type but I'd like to do something special for him.